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Iceberg Slim is not an author I have read in the recent past, but I dimly recall reading his semi-autobiographical novel Pimp many, many years ago. So long ago it probably doesn't count.
Beck has about 8 or 9 books to his name, a few of them published posthumously after his death in 1992.
There's an interesting 2015 essay in the New Yorker which provides a bit of insight into his life and works and influences - The Fires That Forged Iceberg Slim.
Trick Baby (1967)
This is the gritty truth, the life of a hustler in South Side Chicago, where the only characters are those who con and those who get conned.
Trick Baby tells the story of White Folks, a blue-eyed, light-haired con artist whose pale skin allows him to pass in the streets as a white man. Folks is tormented early in life, rejected by other children and branded a "trick baby", a child conceived between a hooker and her trick. Refusing to abandon his life in the ghetto and a chance at revenge, Folks is taken under the wing of an older mentor, Blue. What happens next is unbelievable.
Only Slim could bring us the story of a hustler forced to learn the game and rise to the top. It's Slim's story, and he tells it the only way he knows how: in the language of the streets.
Death Wish (1977)
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Power hungry Don Jimmy Collucci is out to become the kingpin of Chicago's "Honored Society." His rise to the top can only be thwarted by one man - a man fueled by revenge who is hell-bent on bringing Collucci's infamous organization down: the "Black Warrior," Jessie Taylor. When ambitions collide, guns are drawn and blood is spilled. This gritty crime fiction tale is the original Mafia story.
These really sound interesting, Col. I like the Chicago setting, and the stories themselves sound appealing, especially Trick Baby. I'll be interested in what you think of that one.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to visiting a long ago Chicago when I eventually read these Margot. Like you I think Trick Baby has slightly more appeal.
DeleteCol – Both sound good. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI do like my books set in Chicago and I'm always interested in characters that live on the fringes.
DeleteTough stuff! Iceberg Slim is a great name...
ReplyDeleteHope to see him featuring over at yours soon.
DeleteI agree, I like the author's pseudonym. Don't know if I would like the books are not.
ReplyDeleteI think the setting both city and the time frame of the books have a great interest for me.
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